Jumping off a mountain

Several years ago, while Suzanne and I were living in Croatia, I was driving up to Germany with a good friend, Brandon Duncan. He was young, energetic and very adventurous. He convinced me to go paragliding off a mountain in Slovenia.

I was scared to death. First, I don’t like heights. Second, I have a tendency to get motion sickness. Third, Suzanne would never allow it with our four children still at home. So, I decided to wait until I landed to tell Suzanne:).

Even though my wife and I had planted a church and sold everything we had to go to the mission field, when it came to potential physical harm we would always play it safe. Brandon helped me see that life could be so much richer if I would risk a little.

When I strapped on that paraglide my heart started beating super fast. The guide that went with me told me that you have to lean into the wind and run as hard as you can towards the edge and keep running even after you leave the mountain (most people have a tendency to stop running just shy of the cliff – go figure). So that’s what I did.

As soon as my feet left the safety of the mountain, the wind took over. It was incredible. We soared up, not down by the thermals. The guide said that paragliders can stay up for hours by just catching the thermals. As we started to make our descent the guide asked me how crazy I was – I figured he knew based on what we had just done. But there was one more thing I needed to experience. A free fall dive. The guide took us on a looping dive that dropped us 1,000 feet in seconds (yes, I screamed like a girl). It was a rush and I would do it all over again.

Jesus offered us a gift – the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the wind that gives us assurance, power and helps us to be productive in this life. Don’t live a doldrums life. Invite the Holy Spirit into your life, jump off the mountain, and let an adventurous life begin in Him.

This Sunday, Pastor Ken is speaking a message on the Holy Spirit at our West Campus and I’m speaking the same message at our South Campus (9:00 and 10:30). I hope that you can make it. You can also watch the services online – westsidelive.org.

4 comments on “Jumping off a mountain”

I was so mad at you when you told me about that risk you took! But now that it has resulted in a blog illustration, all is well.:) Seriously though, I think sometimes I see walking in the Spirit as scary rather than an adventure. A little wind moving through my set ways and days is exactly what I need.

I certainly didn’t “take up” hang gliding…that would have taken a miracle to convince Suzanne:). But doing it once was amazing and I’m so glad I did.

Sometimes what we do in the physical mirrors what we do in the spiritual, but God cares more about the spiritual willingness to take risks for Him in our everyday lives. Talking to someone that we normally wouldn’t talk to, sharing our faith even when it’s really hard to do, saying I’m sorry and asking my boys for forgiveness when I really blow it with them…there are so many things that take spiritual courage in this life. Let’s go for it!!!

Wow! You are pretty crazy or..? I almost took up hang gliding in the 1980 era. My wife(with kids in mind) and my inner most thoughts told me NO. I used to go up on Pine Mountain and hold the gliders in place for the boys on the edge of the mountain then release them when they gave me the signal that a good wind gust was blowing. I always wanted to try it. I picked them up at the bottom by the wind sock with the truck.
Maybe the Holy Spirit had something to do with me not jumping? You are a good leader by stepping out of the box…
It is always an adventure when we jump out of our comfort zone with The Spirit in the lead…
Bless ya